In his January 2015 inaugural address and budget proposal, Governor Brown proposed $20 million to launch a landmark program called the Healthy Soils Initiative. Using cap-and-trade funds, it would incentivize farming practices that increase the soil organic matter in California’s agricultural lands and produce GHG reductions and improve water retention, soil stability and nutrient use efficiency. This proposal echoes a call for investment made by CalCAN since 2010 for investments in integrated biological farming systems that emphasize soil health and biodiversity.
However, California’s 2015 legislative session ended with some big disappointments on climate policy. Among the setbacks was a delay in allocating $1.7 billion in cap-and-trade funds for a number of climate change programs, including the Governor’s proposed Healthy Soils Initiative (HSI). In January 2016, the Governor again proposed funding HSI with $20 million of cap-and-trade money from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in 2016-17.
CalCAN, along with our coalition partner CAFF, co-sponsored a bill in the 2015 session (SB 367) to support the Governor’s proposed HSI budget and to provide policy direction to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to administer it—see below for more details. The bill was authored by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis), an ardent champion for climate-friendly farming. The proposal gained almost unanimous bipartisan votes from both parties at every step of the legislative process, as well as support from environmental and conventional agriculture organizations. However, in the end, the legislature did not move forward on either SB 367 or any of the other bills that allocated cap-and-trade dollars.
In 2016, Senator Wolk introduced a version ofSB 367, backed by CDFA. The bill (SB 1350), is making its way through the Senate and CalCAN is working with the author and CDFA on amendments to ensure strong implementation of the Healthy Soils Initiative. In April 2016, we also submitted comments to CDFA from a group of over 30 agriculture experts to provide input on the program design and implementation.
SB 367 Background
SB 367 would have created a climate change focus for the Environmental Farming Program at CDFA, including new members of the Advisory Panel who have expertise in climate change and agriculture issues. SB 367 also proposed up to $40 million for farmland conservation and $25 million for on-farm practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon. The bill was introduced by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Yolo County), and was co-sponsored by CalCAN and our coalition partner, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF).
SB 367 enjoyed virtually unanimous support in both the Senate and the Assembly, indicating that there is widespread support from the legislature in investments in farming solutions to climate change.
SB 367 Supporters
California Climate and Agriculture Network
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Alameda County Resource Conservation District
Almond Hullers and Processors Association
American Farmland Trust
Association of Compost Producers
Big Sur Land Trust
Cachuma Resource Conservation District
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Compost Coalition
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Council
California Institute for Rural Studies
California League of Conservation Voters
California State Grange
Californians Against Waste
Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
Center for Biological Diversity
Central Valley Farmland Trust
Coastal Environmental Rights Association
Community Environmental Council
Defenders of Wildlife
Ecological Farming Association
Environmental Defense Center
Land Trust of Santa Cruz
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Marin Resource Conservation District
Mendocino County Resource Conservation District
National Hmong American Farmers, Inc.
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Open Space Authority of Santa Clara Valley
Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
Resource Conservation District of Tehama County
Roots of Change
San Mateo County Resource Conservation District
Sonoma Resource Conservation District
Sustainable Agriculture Education
The Center for Food Safety
The Trust for Public Land
Valley Land Alliance
West Marin Environmental Action Committee
Wild Farm Alliance
42 farmers in 20 counties